Top Hoisting Options

Was just wondering what people where using to remove their hardtops, other than a couple of buddies and some beers? I have done the buddies and beers thing but now that I have a dedicated section in my garage for my cruiser, and with summer coming up, I want a way that I can remove and store my top solo. I have looked at the hoist a tops that a lot of the jeep owners use but I feel they are a bit pricey for what they are. So Im looking for recommendations or if anyone has built one. I thought about mounting a track to the roof in my garage with a come-along or electric winch so I could lift the top and then slide it forward on the track.

I repurposed a hardtop removal hoist from an old MB SL series removal hoist.

It has a hand crank winch on the wall and two pulleys. There is a support bar mounted into the ceiling studs reinforcing that pulley. I had a local shop sew seatbelt fabric purchased on eBay into an "X" and onto 4 clips on each end that line up on each side of the top.

I did have them resew them because I calculated the center of mass line wrong, so the top wanted to tilt. Thats the disadvantage of a single liftpoint. I will look for pics.

I like the post above because it lifts "more" evenly and spreads the load over more support beams in the ceiling.